Aberdeen

Anti-drug program expands
American News

Middle schoolers in Aberdeen partake in lessons offered by police officer

As Aberdeen Police Officer Keith Theroux asks a question, nearly 10 hands shoot in the air.

One by one, each of the Holgate seventh-graders participating in the D.A.R.E. class is called on.

While every answer varies, there's hardly ever a wrong one. However, it's not the answers that excite Theroux; it's the interaction.

"I was warned by the teachers that the seventh-grade level tends to be much more reserved," Theroux said. "So when I started teaching, I was amazed by how many of the kids get involved. I really get the feeling they're enjoying the class."

They aren't the only ones. While the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has been a staple in the elementary schools in Aberdeen, this is the first year classes are being taught in the middle schools.

D.A.R.E. is a national program that teaches students how to recognize and resist the pressures of drug and alcohol abuse. Theroux is teaching the 10-week program at Lincoln Elementary, Holgate Middle and Simmons Middle schools. Before the year is over, he will hit nearly every elementary and middle school in Aberdeen.

"I think if we had the money and the resources for it, we would start in the third and fourth grades," Aberdeen Police Chief Don Lanpher Jr. said. "But we just don't. If we had the money for it, we'd also teach it in the high school."

Still, the department is doing what it can. By expanding it to the middle schools, the D.A.R.E. education is enhanced, Theroux said.

"The elementary school education is geared more towards the health effects and facts," he said. "The seventh-grade program is more of a booster program. It feeds off the facts taught in the elementary school, adds more facts and focuses more heavily on peer pressures."

How it works: The D.A.R.E. program is paid for by a variety of organizations. The police department contributes officers, who serve as teachers, and pays for the officers' training. Some funds are donated, and some come from the Fraternal Order of Police. The attorney general's office provides all the books for free. The schools are left with no cost, but must find a way to fit the program into their schedules.

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